Based on a true story, y’all.
Star runner Derrice Bannock is a hero in Jamaica, but his hopes of running in the Olympics are dashed when he and a fellow runner who goes by the name of Yul Brenner no less are tripped by another competitor named Junior on accident. Derrice refuses to give up his Olympic dream. He recalls that a bobsled coach attempted to court his father, who was also a Jamaican runner, into starting the first Jamaican bobsled team. With help from his friend Sanka, Yul and Junior join up and they manage to go all the way to the Olympics. But can four guys from Jamaica actually compete in winter sports?
Oh, the drama! The suspense! The tension!
Not really. This is a feel-good Disney flick, so it’s chock full of cliches and great life lessons: never give up, always finish, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera (to quote the real Yul Brynner). Somehow the film avoids preaching, which is great and the cast makes it actually a real joy to watch, cliches and all.
Cool Runnings is frivolous fun, one of those movies I watched when I was a kid to pass the time that as an adult I find amusing without being tiring. It’s a sweet film mainly carried through the interactions of the four bobsledders and I imagine partly on my childhood nostalgia to be frank.
What I did not expect was to turn off the movie and feel an odd wistfulness for John Candy, who died quite a while ago and who I realize I miss greatly in films. Candy was a big part of my childhood in the sense that I watched more than a few of his movies, but his salty, cranky sled coach in this movie is a gem. It’s sad that Candy’s no longer around; he was skillfully funny, I now realize, in a way a lot of comedic actors never are. He could also cut it as a “real actor”.
The movie’s a fun piece of feel-good cinema, if you’re into that sort of thing and if you’re not, then you won’t like it in the slightest, I don’t think.
1416 and Counting 
OMG I love you for blogging about this movie, this is a childhood favorite! “We gotta Bobsled team!”
Haha, this movie is fun…reminds me of my youth. Good post indeed!
“Jamaica has a Bobsled team!”
For some reason this is the movie we always watched in grammar school when we had a substitute teacher. We all loved it though, so having a sub was great!
Good point about John Candy. It took me awhile to warm up to him when I was younger but he really was distinctive.
I’m Jamaican, and I approved of this movie. The whole thing about the palace makes me cry every time.
I liked this when I saw it 10+ years ago. Wonder what I would think of it now. Still remember a very funny scene wher the line goes like this: “How about I draw a line on your forehead so it looks like a butt” or something like that. That was a proper hysterical laugh moment right there.
I love this it really is a good movie to watch for the feel good factor and laughs. Also it does have a few emotional moments.
this is a childhood favorite!
No kidding; I can’t remember if it used to run on the Disney Channel non-stop or if we had the tape of it. Either way, my younger sister and I watched it a lot.
“Jamaica has a Bobsled team!”
“I’ll pay you a dollar to SHUT. UP.” That’s one of my favorite parts of the whole movie.
We all loved it though, so having a sub was great!
Hee! I never got to watch cool stuff in grade school. Lucky!
I’m Jamaican, and I approved of this movie. The whole thing about the palace makes me cry every time.
Aww! The palace thing is such a sweet moment. I can see how it would make you cry. (And yay, Jamaica! I’m glad that you approve of it. There’s nothing suckier than watching a movie about people from or where you live and realizing you hate it with the fire of a thousand suns.)
“How about I draw a line on your forehead so it looks like a butt” or something like that. That was a proper hysterical laugh moment right there.
Yeah, Sanka tells Yul Brynner that and routinely calls him “Big Baldy”. Most of the comedy is pretty funny. I don’t know why this surprises me for a Disney movie; maybe it’s because it holds up for me as an adult.
I love this it really is a good movie to watch for the feel good factor and laughs. Also it does have a few emotional moments.
Too true!
This one was a staple in my childhood. And it’s weird, because when my mom took us to the dollar theater to see it, we didn’t want to at all. We only got to go to the theater about once a year and this one just didn’t seem to be worth it. Boy, were we wrong. “Feel the rhythm. Feel the Rhyme. Get on up. It’s bobsled time!!”
My sister spent two years of her ilfe going to art school in Calgary, and I spent two weeks there visiting, so I kinda had to see Cool Runnings.
I agree with everything in the post, Caitilin. I would also add that this is one of those formula films where eveyone involved just seemed to give a crap and put in a good effort. Jon Candy did not phone this one in and the rest of the cast seemed to be enjoying themselves. I was surprised at how good the cinematography was in this film. I mean anyone can make Jamaica look pretty, but even Calgary look good in this one.
I absolutely love this movie! So much fun!